Kelso High School English Department

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Chapter One Characterisation Nick, Daisy, Tom, Gatsby Setting West Egg, East Egg, America Theme Code of Conduct The Shallowness of the American Upper Classes Structure / Narrative Technique

Characterisation - Nick Nick is initially portrayed as the perfect narrator – “inclined to reserve all judgements” He appears as tolerant, open minded, quiet and a good listener. Others tell him their secrets – “I was privy to the secret grief”, “Most of the confidences”, “intimate revelation”

Characterisation - Nick Discussion point – Why do these qualities give Nick the potential to be a successful and effective narrator?

Characterisation - Nick Nick is clearly from a privileged background – “ Just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had” and “My father snobbishly suggested and I snobbishly repeat”

Characterisation – Nick However, there are clear contradictions apparent in Nick’s character even from the very beginning of the novel - “ And, after boasting this way of my tolerance, I came to the conclusion that it has a limit”

Characterisation - Nick Consider the following quotes describing Nick’s reaction to Gatsby – “ Only Gatsby, the man who gives his name to this book, was exempt from my reaction” “ there was something gorgeous about him” “ it was an extraordinary gift for hope, a romantic readiness such as I have never found in any other person”

Characterisation - Nick Discussion point – Explain why these quotes might suggest that Nick is not going to be a reliable narrator after all.

Characterisation - Daisy

Think of the connotations of the name Daisy – a delicate white flower This image is continued later in the chapter with the description of Jordan and Daisy – “ they were both in white, and their dresses were rippling and fluttering” White has conventional connotations of purity and innocence

Characterisation - Daisy However, it is ironic given her name that Daisy’s life is conducted in an entirely manufactured environment remote from the natural world

Characterisation - Daisy Discussion point – By referring to the following quotes explain why Daisy’s portrayal in the opening chapter is not particularly positive:

Characterisation - Daisy ‘Do they miss me?’ she cried ecstatically “Then she added irrelevantly: ‘You ought to see the baby.’ “She…..She….She….Her” ‘All right,’ said Daisy. ‘What’ll we plan?’ She turned to me helplessly: ‘What do people plan?’

Characterisation - Daisy There is also a clear suggestion that all is not well with her marriage - “I know you didn’t mean to, but you did do it” “That’s what I get for marrying a brute of a man, a great big hulking physical specimen of a -’

Characterisation - Daisy This is confirmed later in the chapter – “Tom’s got some woman in New York….She might have the decency not to telephone him at dinner time. Don’t you think?’ Daisy is clearly not a happy woman - “Well, I’ve had a very bad time, Nick, and I’m pretty cynical about everything”

Characterisation - Daisy Discussion point – Based on your reading of Chapter One list the problems Daisy faces in her life

Characterisation - Daisy Given these problems and difficulties, Daisy’s subsequent reluctance or inability to leave Tom is striking. This once again emphasises her passivity

Characterisation - Daisy Her defeatism is also strikingly apparent in the following quote - “ All right,” I said, “I’m glad it’s a girl. And I hope she’ll be a fool – that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.”

Characterisation - Tom Our initial impression of Tom is not positive. Task Read the following extract and list the negative aspects of Tom’s character which emerge

Characterisation - Tom “Now he was a sturdy straw-haired man of thirty, with a rather hard mouth and a supercilious manner. Two shining arrogant eyes had established dominance over his face and gave him the appearance of always leaning aggressively forward…..It was a body capable of enormous leverage – a cruel body”

Characterisation - Tom This negative impression is continued in the very next paragraph – “….added to the impression of fractiousness he conveyed. There was a touch of paternal contempt in it, even towards people he liked – and there were men at New Haven who hated his guts”

Characterisation - Tom Discussion point – Explain why the incident with Daisy’s finger further contributes to our negative impression of Tom

Characterisation - Tom What does the following quote suggest about the character of Tom? “Civilisation’s going to pieces,’ broke out Tom violently, …… Have you read The Rise of the Coloured Empires…. If we don’t look out the white race will be - will be utterly submerged. It’s all scientific stuff; it’s been proved”

Setting - East Egg

Discussion point – Analyse the following extract. What impression are we given of East Egg? How does Fitzgerald achieve this? “ Across the courtesy bay the white palaces of fashionable East Egg glittered along the water”

Setting - East Egg Why is the following a particularly successful example of descriptive writing in portraying the excesses of East Egg? “Their house was even more elaborate than I expected, a cheerful red and white Georgian Colonial mansion, overlooking the bay. The lawn started at the beach and ran towards the front door for a quarter of a mile, jumping over sundials and brick walls and burning gardens - finally when it reached the house drifting up the side in bright vines as though from the momentum of its run. The front was broken by a line of french windows, glowing now with reflected gold”

Setting - East Egg What is suggested by the negative description of Tom that follows this elaborate description?

Setting - East Egg What is suggested by the following remark of Jordan’s – “You live in West Egg,” she remarked contemptuously.”

Setting - West Egg

Discussion point What do the following quotes suggest about West Egg? “the less fashionable of the two” “the one on my right was a colossal affair” “it was a factual imitation” “spanking new under a thin beard of raw ivy”

Setting - East Egg & West Egg East Egg and West Egg are both homes to great wealth They are, however, opposites in terms of values:- East Egg – sees itself as a place of breeding, taste, aristocracy and leisure West Egg - viewed by East Egg as ostentatious, garish and home to the flashy manners of the new rich

Setting - America It is clear from the divisions between East Egg and West Egg as well as Tom’s racist remarks that Gatsby’s 1920s America is in reality a society divided by race, class and gender

Theme - Code of Conduct “When I came back from the East last autumn I felt that I wanted the world to be in uniform and at a sort of moral attention forever” Nick declares his belief in the need for codes of conduct to regulate human behaviour and to control the unruly elements of ourselves

Theme – Code of Conduct Nick’s dilemma is whether to live a cautious and disciplined existence or to indulge in a passionate, unruly life

Theme – The Shallowness of the American Upper Classes “Do they miss me?’ she cried ecstatically. “The whole town is desolate. All the cars have the left rear wheel painted black as a mourning wreath, and there’s a persistent wail all night along the north shore.’ “She….She…She….Her”

Theme - The Shallowness of the American Upper Classes “We ought to plan something”, yawned Miss Baker, sitting down at the table as if she were getting into bed.” “All right,’ said Daisy. ‘What’ll we plan?’ She turned to me helplessly: ‘What do people plan?’ Both examples suggest that the lives of rich Americans are lacking in purpose and direction Task - Circle the phrases which reflect this.

Theme - The Shallowness of the American Upper Classes “their impersonal eyes” - does this suggest that their eyes are deadened by wealth? “the absence of all desire” - there is a clear suggestion that they have all they need and everything that they could possibly want

Theme - The Shallowness of The American Upper Classes Discussion Think about the characters we have met in this chapter. Why is it clear from characterisation alone that Fitzgerald disapproves of the Upper classes?

Theme - The Shallowness of the American Upper Classes In what way does the following description of Jordan contribute to this impression? “ Its pleasing contemptuous expression had looked out at me …. I had heard some story of her too, a critical unpleasant story, but what it was I had forgotten long ago.”

Structure Discussion In what way does the opening chapter create an air of mystery around the character of Gatsby?

Structure Task Carefully reread the final paragraph of Chapter One. How does Fitzgerald again create an aura of mystery around Gatsby?

Well-done!!!!